Conservative Strategy (No ICBMs)
While the option of pre-emptive strike or mass nuclear retalation may seem inviting, the reality is that it will inevitably lead to unnecessary civilian deaths on one or both sides. Therefore it is entirely possible to win over an opponent using only naval and air force resources without resorting to an ICBM option. DEFCON 5 The placement of units is not critical to this strategy, and these are only recommendations. Submarines should be deployed in fleets of two and scattered around the enemy country to insure full coverage of the continent. Fleets of single submarines are also useful to help hunt for enemy submarines off friendly coasts. Fleets should be comprised of 1.) one carrier and one battleship and 2.) two carriers and two battleships. The two-ship fleets are flexible in that they can serve to either replenish carrier aircraft of the larger fleets with fighters from the air bases, or hunt for submarines along the coast without keeping too many naval ships out of the fight. Air bases should be placed close to shore to insure a quick response to any development on the seas. Radar should be placed to insure maximum coverage of the surrounding waters. Placing two radar facilities together reduces the chance of losing radar coverage in that area. Missile silos should be clustered around major urban centers. DEFCON 3 Submarines and carriers near friendly coasts should be ordered to hunt for submarines. Once an enemy fleet is spotted, friendly fleets nearby should attack as one coherent unit to minimize losses. Naval forces can be supplemented with bombers from nearby air bases. It is important to establish naval dominance early in the game. DEFCON 1 If the opponent chooses a pre-emptive strike at this time, missile silos should remain in defensive mode. By this time, submarine fleets should be within combat range. Once enemy missile silos are detected, SLBM should be launched to destroy these targets while sparing urban centers. Enemy missile silos will not be able to respond to this threat since they are in ICBM launch mode. If launches are successful, the enemy wave of ICBMs will be reduced. Friendly missile silos should be able to shoot down the majority of missiles, but depending on the enemy attack pattern, moderate to severe losses on friendly urban centers can be expected. Once most of the missile silos have been destroyed, any remaining friendly carrier fleets should move within combat range of the enemy country. Fighter scouts should be deployed to detect enemy air bases and radar facilities. These facilities should then be destroyed using SLBMs. If no SLBMs remain in friendly submarines, bombers should be launched from carriers or nearby air bases. Once all radar stations, missile silos, and air bases have been destroyed, the victory timer will begin counting down. If friendly cities have sustained casualties and the opponent has more points, limited bomber strikes against small enemy cities should commence until the score surpasses that of the enemy. Continue hunting for remaining enemy fleets until the timer expires. PESSIMISTIC OUTCOME No plan is perfect, and there are several scenarios where this strategy does not succeed to its fullest potential. *All enemy ICBMs are launched, overwhelming missile silo defenses and results in severe friendly civilian casualties. There is little choice other than to retaliate to level the score. *Friendly naval units are destroyed in the beginning. This would limit the amount of scouting needed to locate enemy installations. With enemy radar facilites and air bases still intact, no victory timer will countdown untilt he majority of ICBMs are launched, defeating the purpose of this strategy. OPTIMISTIC OUTCOME If everything goes according to plan, the following should be expected. *Minimal friendly civilian casualties were sustained since friendly missile silos were devoted to shooting down enemy ICBMs. *Minimal enemey civilian casualties were sustained since only enemy military targets were targetted with the exception of small strikes against enemy cities to level the score. *No friendly ICBMs were launched